Aline Pelzer

About Aline Pelzer

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Digitalkonferenz-2024

ROI Booster through the Integration of Direct Mail in Omni-Channel Marketing

Direct Mail serves as a performance accelerator for many businesses in omni-channel marketing. With the power of AI, postal mailings such as postcards, letters, and self-mailers can be segmented with greater precision and then highly personalised.

In this session, Martin Twellmeyer will showcase:

  • How Fressnapf is unleashing the potential of Direct Mail in omni-channel marketing
  • Why marketing automation is the key to achieving higher ROI
  • How Emarsys’ AI-driven cloud solutions are advancing Direct Mail automation
Consent*
 


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Higher conversion rates through precise data segmentation and personalisation

The best equipment alone won’t get you far – only when it’s perfectly set up, and you know exactly how to operate it will it reach its full potential. Imagine owning a state-of-the-art camera. Without knowing how to adjust the aperture, exposure time, and ISO settings, the results will likely fall short of expectations. It’s only with skilled handling and precise calibration that the technology truly shines. That’s the key: technology is only as effective as the person using it.

Your direct mail campaigns also perform better the more seamlessly the technology comes together. This is ultimately what data segmentation and campaign personalisation rely on. That’s why, in this blog post, we’d like to introduce you to our “Professional Service,” designed to help you achieve clean data segmentation and, building on that, optimal personalisation for your direct mail.

Professional Services: Two Pillars of successful consultation

 

To boost the conversion rate of your direct mail campaigns, our consultation is built on two essential pillars that cover every aspect of a successful advisory process. These pillars ensure that you receive not only a precise analysis of your current challenges but also concrete, actionable recommendations for future success.

1. Brainstorming Pillar: Consulting and Development of a Meaningful Data Structure and Segmentation Processes

This phase is all about gathering ideas without constraints and building a solid foundation for the future data structure and segmentation strategy of your direct mail campaigns. The goal is to offer not only technical insights but also practical recommendations for establishing a sustainable and valuable data base.

Key elements include:

  • Identifying Technical Possibilities and Requirements: We assess what’s technically feasible and determine the infrastructure needed to enable efficient data processing and utilisation.

  • Recommendations on Data Structure and Segmentation: Using best practices and industry-specific experience, we provide guidance on structuring and segmenting data to achieve optimal results.

  • Identifying and Leveraging Existing Data Assets: We assist in analysing existing datasets to uncover potential “data treasures” that may have been previously overlooked. These can then be strategically used or enriched to maximise data potential.

  • Opportunities for Data Enrichment: Beyond reviewing available data, we also explore how additional data sources can be utilised or integrated to enhance the accuracy and precision of segmentation and personalisation.

Overall, this brainstorming process is designed to lay the groundwork for structuring data efficiently and effectively, transforming it into a strategic asset that drives the success of your marketing and sales activities.

2. Implementation and Integration Support: Bridging Internal Resource Gaps

If, during the consultation, it becomes clear that certain optimisation measures are needed—such as adjusting data structures or implementing new processes—but your internal IT indicates that these adjustments would only be feasible in several months, we offer targeted support. Our Professional Service helps you make the necessary adjustments promptly, without having to wait for your IT department’s long-term resources.

Our range of services includes:

  • One-Time Data Migration: We handle the migration and integration of your existing data into the new structure, so you can start with an optimised data foundation that provides swift access to valuable insights.

  • Use of the optilyz Custom Connector: If your systems are not yet ready for direct integration, we deploy the optilyz Custom Connector. This connector seamlessly links various systems such as marketing cloud platforms, e-commerce systems, customer data platforms, data warehouses, and optilyz.

    • Example: When a customer receives a voucher code, it’s crucial that this information is accessible in the customer support tool. This way, the support team can see exactly which customer received which voucher in the context of which communication, allowing them to tailor interactions accordingly. If the support team primarily operates within a dedicated support tool, rather than directly with the marketing cloud, reliable data synchronisation is essential.

Our service ensures that this information is passed to the cloud in real time and can be updated bidirectionally as needed. This keeps the customer support team up-to-date and enables them to respond effectively to individual offers and interactions—regardless of the system where the information was initially stored. In this way, we foster seamless communication and enhance efficiency in customer support.

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“In practice, this could look like the following: A separate recommendation engine is used, which is not directly connected to the marketing cloud. The optilyz Custom Connector is “positioned” between the marketing cloud and the optilyz platform, “querying” the recommendation engine for each recipient in a direct mail campaign to determine which products to recommend. Based on the response, data from the marketing cloud is enriched and then sent to the optilyz platform, allowing the postcard to be personalised and printed accordingly.”
 

Thorsten Hemann
Solution Engineer

  • Individual Marketing Data Streams: By connecting multiple systems and data sources, we enable the creation of specific marketing flows that can be enriched with additional data sources. This allows us to build a flexible and scalable infrastructure that meets the needs of modern, data-driven marketing processes. 

Through these measures, we ensure that your direct mail campaigns are strengthened and data-driven, without delays – regardless of your IT department’s internal capacity constraints.

Professional Service: Book your strategy call now

Du möchtest deinen Daten-Chaos mit uns bereinigen und deine Direct Mail Kampagnen optimieren? Dann buche dir ein unverbindliches Strategiegespräch mit unserem Sulution Engineer Thorsten Hemann.

Book your call with thorsten
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advent calendar 2024

 

24 days, 24 suprises insights and AHA-moments

The Advent season is not just a time of joyful anticipation; it’s also a fantastic opportunity to enhance customer relationships. Our advent calendar reveals how Direct Mail Automation, programmatic print and omni-channel marketing can elevate your customers engagement to a new level.

Behind each door you will have the chance to win a prize and discover strategies to intensify the bond between your customers through strategic marketing campaigns and second order push. Get inspired and explore how you can maximise the effectiveness of your customer journey with 24 innovative approaches.

Participation is free!

 

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These are some of our 

strong partners:

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Focusing on Palmers’ customers: From manual print mailings to Direct Mail Automation

By repositioning itself, Palmers is shining a spotlight on its customers and has therefore also restructured its direct mail process. Instead of time-consuming, manual print mailings, the company now successfully relies on dynamic automation of direct mail.

 Thanks to the integration of optilyz into the Marketing Cloud, Palmers has not only significantly reduced costs but also gained valuable time resources. The multi-channel strategy is further enhanced by the integration of the new Palmers Club app.

Curious about how the shift to Direct Mail Automation works? Apply for the OMR Digital Masterclass! Palmers will share insights into their restructuring process and reveal the challenges they’ve overcome.

Where? Online, Track 3
When? Tuesday, 19th November 2024

Time? 11:30-12:30 
Language? German

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Black Friday, Cyber Monday & Co – why Direct Mail Campaigns are a game changer

Black Friday, Hanukkah, Christmas, and many other holidays are just around the corner – the high season is probably the busiest time of year for your marketing campaigns. But how do you stand out in this (digital) advertising chaos? The answer: with direct mail Automation! Direct mail grabs attention and stays memorable, especially during the high season. In this blog, we’ll show you how clever strategies and omni-channel campaigns can give you the competitive edge.

Black Friday – when is it and what is its meaning?

Black Friday is a phenomenon that has gained importance outside of the USA since the early 2000s. But where does this holiday come from? Black Friday has its origin in the USA and takes part at Friday after Thanksgiving, one of the most important holidays in America. Thanksgiving is traditionally celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November and most Americans take the following Friday off to enjoy the long weekend – or to shop insanely!

That’s why we call it “Black Friday”

On the one hand, the name is derived from accounting. Retailers could turn their balance sheets from red (loss) to black (profit) due to high sales figures on this day. On the other hand, the name is attributed to the police in Philadelphia in the 1960s, who referred to the day as ‘Black Friday’ because of the chaos and traffic caused by the crowds. Today, the day is known worldwide for huge discounts and marks the start of the Christmas shopping season.

For many businesses (especially retail and e-commerce), this day is anything but calm: they use Black Friday to entice their customers to make purchases with special offers and freebies. Often, the promotions start at midnight and provide the perfect kick-off to the Christmas season and the big gift shopping rush. This is also confirmed by a study from PwC, which shows that 71 per cent of respondents look for Christmas presents on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

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The figures speak for themselves: In 2022 around 5.8 billion euros were spent on online shopping just in Germany over the extended Thanksgiving weekend, including Cyber Monday. It’s no surprise, then, that since 2005 Black Friday has been considered the most lucrative day of the year, both in brick-and-mortar stores and online. But it doesn’t stop there: the shopping frenzy continues in the following days!

On Cyber Monday, there are similar discount battles, especially in e-commerce, while Giving Tuesday offers a great opportunity to give back after all the consumerism. The latter was launched in the USA in 2012, focusing on social engagement, with many people donating to various charitable organisations.

Why is Direct Mail so attractive for high season campaigns? 

During the high season, especially around Black Friday and Christmas, the digital space becomes incredibly crowded: emails bombard your customers, Instagram is flooded with ads, as every company is vying for attention. But let’s be honest – how many of these messages are even noticed?

This is where Direct Mail Automation comes in – with significant advantages for you. Imagine a campaign where you reach your customers not only digitally but also physically. An email? It’s quickly overlooked or deleted. But a high-quality direct mail through the post? It lands right in your target audience’s hands and is much harder to forget.

The “Fridge Effect” with Direct Mail Automation

Many people take postcards, self-mailers, or letters from the post and bring them into their homes to read later at their leisure. Especially during the Christmas season, when everyone is looking for gifts for their loved ones, this ensures that your company’s message stays top of mind.

If you offer high-quality products, you need advertising that reflects this. Direct Mail Automation not only feels premium, but it also evokes emotions and ensures your message resonates for longer. This way, your campaign stands out amidst the digital overload – and reaches exactly the customers you want to target.

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The refrigerator effect: How to utilize the performance of Direct Mails

Direct mails are becoming more relevant for the design of the media mix (once again), because they offer decisive advantages. The possibilities of modern digital printing, Direct Mail Automation software and the use of data and artificial intelligence allow to manage direct mails like a performance channel. 

But how exactly can you, as a business, evoke emotions? For example, through hyperpersonalisation! How cool is it when a large postcard features the recipient’s own name, along with recommendations tailored to their typical purchasing behaviour? That’s exactly what your customers will think, encouraging them to keep the direct mail in their sight.

Your benefit of omni-channel marketing during the high season

To stand out as much as possible during the high season, relying on just one channel isn’t enough. You need a smart combination of different communication channels – this is called omni-channel marketing. A particularly effective strategy is to combine direct mail, app push notifications, website, and email.

Our tip: Outside the high season, omni-channel campaigns typically follow this pattern: You start by sending a series of emails, work with app push notifications, and provide updates on your website, only then following up with Direct Mail Automation.

However, during the high season, you should take the opposite approach. Imagine this: two weeks before Black Friday, you send out a high-quality direct mail that lands directly in the hands of your customers. As a business, this allows you to create incentives for your customers – all perfectly timed and planned.

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Just before the official start of Black Friday, you follow up with a targeted email: “Don’t forget your discount voucher!” or “Only 2 days left until the Black Friday discount”. Now you’ve got their full attention because your direct mail has already laid the foundation, and the email reminder boosts the campaign’s conversion rate. This way, you guide your audience through the entire customer journey – from the initial inspiration sparked by your Direct Mail Automation to the final action via email.

The added value becomes especially apparent when you also take into account your customers’ affinities and preferences. The more personalised your campaign – whether through tailored offers or personalised messaging – the greater its impact. By combining direct mail, app push notifications, and email, you leverage the strengths of all performance channels: Direct Mail grabs attention and remains physically present, while emails are flexible, quick, and act as a complementary reinforcement.

This Direct Mail formats are ideal for the High Season

For high-season campaigns, especially around events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or Giving Tuesday, it’s all about a quick, cost-effective communication with impact. Certain formats are better suited for this than others. A classic that consistently proves its worth is the postcard – particularly in the maxi format. Not only is this format the most affordable, but it also provides enough space to convey your message clearly and impressively.

Keep in mind: less is more. Instead of long texts and complicated explanations, focus on good images and concentrate on a message that matters for your customers – a discount or other benefits! The letter, another standard format, works brilliantly for high-season and last-minute promotions, as well.

It’s crucial to keep the CLV, or Customer Lifetime Value, of your target audience in mind. The more loyal your customers are, the more you can invest in premium Direct Mail automation formats. In other words: it can be worthwhile to invest in high-quality or higher-priced formats if you’re confident that your customers are particularly receptive to your offers.

Analyse your customers’ buying behaviour using your Customer Data Platform or Marketing Cloud:

  • What have they purchased from you?
  • When and how frequently did they buy?
  • Where did they buy – online or in-store?
  • What was the purchase value?

Start your analysis: Use the insights you have to make your message even more targeted and personal. A well-placed, individualised message, combined with a clear visual image, can make your short-term campaign a success.

How you stand out with individual Designs 

During the high season you need to stand out and stay memorable – thats what you already know this from blog. To achieve this, your Direct Mail campaign needs to be eye-catching, catchy, and creatively designed. Standard advertising like impersonal flyers and brochures are a thing of the past – today, you need bold ideas and designs to stand out from the crowd.

Why not design an entirely black Direct Mail campaign? Dark elements as a nod to Black Friday immediately grab attention and create a direct link to the event. Or how about an exclusive promotion inspired by Black Friday? One of our clients, Deutsche See, did just that by creating the innovative “Fish Week.” And it doesn’t always have to be about discounts or vouchers in your Direct Mail. Perhaps your campaign could offer a different kind of value: it could be a checklist, a shopping list, or even an elegant invitation to an exclusive event!

Remember, Black Friday used to be an in-store event, while Cyber Monday was solely online. Today, these boundaries are blurred, with many businesses covering both touchpoints. How you reach your customers depends on their shopping preferences. Some love browsing in-store, while others swear by online shopping. With clever segmentation through your Marketing Cloud or CRM, you can find this out and tailor your campaign accordingly.

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Checklist: Start with hyperpersonalisation

The demands on marketing and CRM teams are becoming more technological and data-driven. In this checklist, we have summarised for you in a clear and easy-to-understand way how to create the personnel, strategic and technological foundation that enables hyperpersonalisation.

 

Things to keep in mind when offering incentives or vouchers

When using an incentive like a voucher in your campaigns during Black Friday or Black Week, there are a few key things to keep in mind. The most important point: percentage-based discounts often have a greater impact than fixed amounts. A “20 percent” discount sounds more appealing to customers than a “10 euro discount.” This has psychological reasons: percentage discounts appear more dynamic and premium – especially when the purchase value is higher, which also increases the discount.

To offer the right discount to the right customers, you need to know your customers well. Loyal customers might not need a high discount or voucher at all, but rather a different kind of incentive that reinforces their status – for example, an invitation to an exclusive event. On the other hand, customers who aren’t yet fully committed to your brand might build more trust through a discount of ten to twenty percent.

Keep an eye on postal deliveries

The months of November and December are always peak time for direct mail campaigns – everything needs to run quickly and smoothly. But don’t worry: it might sound ambitious, but with the right strategy, it’s absolutely possible to get a direct mail campaign up and running even now. If you’re planning your campaign, we recommend taking advantage of the entire Black Week rather than focusing solely on Black Friday.

Why? It’s simple: this way, you give your customers more time to redeem their vouchers or offers. When it comes to postal deliveries, keep in mind the ‘E+8 rule’ – meaning your postcards, self-mailers, or letters will arrive within eight days. For campaigns with volumes of up to 200,000 mailings, this standard timeframe is guaranteed. Anything beyond that may take longer.

Conclusion: Direct Mail campaigns are worth it during the high season

We hope this blog article has shed some light and provided you with valuable insights into direct mail during the high season. Do you have any questions or need support with planning your campaigns? Get in touch with us and let’s plan your successful direct mail campaign together!

Black Friday, Cyber Monday & Co – why Direct Mail Campaigns are a game changer
Black Friday, Cyber Monday & Co – why Direct Mail Campaigns are a game changer
Black Friday, Cyber Monday & Co – why Direct Mail Campaigns are a game changer
Black Friday, Cyber Monday & Co – why Direct Mail Campaigns are a game changer

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Outdated & ineffectiv? Are you kidding? Uplift your conversion rates with Direct Mail

In an ultra-digitalised world, where brochures and flyers are fading from the spotlight, it may seem paradoxical to many businesses that direct mail automation (the postal dispatch of self-mailers, letters, and postcards) is actually gaining relevance as a performance channel. However, despite the widespread belief print is outdated, direct mail remains an essential component of a successful marketing mix and often seen as the “hidden champion” among performance channels.

So, if you still think that direct mail automation is old-fashioned and ineffective, you are – to put it bluntly – “living under a rock”. Why? Because in 2024, Direct Mail has nothing to do with impersonal mass mailings. Hyperpersonalised direct mail campaigns stand out, captivate recipients, and reward businesses with conversion rates averaging between four and 10 per cent. Curious to know how this is possible? Then read on!

Definition: That’s Direct Mail Automation

Before we reveal what direct mail automation (also known as Programmatic Print) is, let’s first clarify what direct Mail campaigns are: direct Mail is the postal delivery of letters, postcards, or self-mailers to existing customers. As said above this has nothing to do with impersonal massmailings like brochures, flyers, or leaflets; instead, direct mail does more than just promote. It provides segmented and therefore hyperpersonalised advertising messages that surprise your customers and build long lasting loyalty.

Example: Direct Mail Automation

Imagine you’ve purchased a pair of blue trousers from a fashion brand. Three weeks later, a postcard arrives in your letterbox. They show three additional clothing items that perfectly complement your trousers. You realise that the brand still remembers your purchase, which flatters you, so you immediately use the trackable 10 per cent discount code.

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In fact, you can automate direct mail campaigns just like email campaigns within your marketing cloud and integrate them into the customer journey. This can save you up to 70-80% of manual effort. And how does it work? Trigger points, segmentation, and buyer personas come into play.

For example, you can specify whether direct mail items such as postcards, letters, or self-mailers should be sent at a particular time: 3 days before a birthday or 4 weeks after a first purchase. Alternatively, the mailings can be triggered only when certain conditions are met: Customer “Smith” has always been very active but hasn’t made any purchase the past year.

Worth noting: Many CDPs like Emarsys, Salesforce, Braze, and others enable seamless integration with optilyz. This means you can work on a unified customer journey within the same tool and incorporate your direct mail! You can find an overview of our partners here.

Direct Mail is an Opt-Out Kanal

In our day-to-day work with our clients, we often encounter confusion around the topics of Double Opt-In and direct mail automation. What exactly is Double Opt-In? What is Opt-Out? How does the GDPR affect direct mail automation?

Why do we need the Double Opt-In?

In many countries, especially within the European Union, the Double Opt-In procedure is a requirement for compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The GDPR stipulates that companies may only contact individuals via email if they have explicitly consented twice (Double Opt-In).

You’re probably familiar with this: when you sign up for a newsletter or another service on a website, you first enter your email address. You then receive a confirmation email from the provider. In this email, you will find a link that you need to click to confirm your Double Opt-In. By clicking this link, you confirm that you are indeed the owner of the provided email address and consent to receiving emails. From this point on, you will receive the provider’s emails or newsletters regularly, which must be unsubscribable with a single click.

Do I need the Double Opt-In for my Direct Mail campaigns?

The good news first: No! Even many marketers are often unaware that Double Opt-In is not required for direct mail campaigns. This means that customers can be contacted by letter, self-mailer or postcard without prior consent. If they don’t want to receive any information anymore the have to do Opt-Out.

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4 prejudices about Direct Mail Automation

Perhaps you and your team are currently hesitant to incorporate direct mail automation into your marketing strategy. One of the reasons for this might be that the direct mail seems too complex and costly. We want to convince you that this is not true and have taken a closer look at the most common prejudices.

1. Direct Mail is outdated and ineffective

Many businesses believe that direct mail is outdated and has no relevance in our digitalised world. Many think that consumers only respond to digital ads and ignore print advertising. But here’s the truth: direct mail is a high-performance marketing channel! Outdated? Nonsense! direct mail offers your customers a unique tactile experience that digital media simply can’t provide.

Think about this: Relevant post gets often pinned to the noticeboard or fridge and is more likely to be opened than emails. That’s because direct mail has a personalised approach. Nowadays, receiving and opening a tactile, personalised direct mail is a highlight – a nostalgic, rare experience. Companies should keep this in mind.

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2. Programmatic Print is expensive and time-consuming

Direct mail seems to be more expensive and time-consuming compared to digital channels, due to costs for printing, materials and postage. The logistics appears tricky as well. But is it really that complicated? To be honest: The initial planning may be a bit more complex than for digital campaigns, but after getting used to the process it is as simple as email marketing. And do not forget conversion rates between 4 and 10 per cent. 

In fact, these two marketing channels are more alike than you might think! Programmatic print also relies on a data-driven omni-channel approach and requires many of the same skills that are crucial in email marketing. So, it’s a misconception to claim that direct mail is inherently more expensive and time-consuming! Alongside planning, software is key – and this is where optilyz comes in.

With us, you and your company can design your campaigns efficiently. By automating your direct mail campaigns, you significantly reduce manual effort. Did you know? You can easily integrate optilyz into your marketing cloud or CDPs – without requiring additional technical resources. This way, costs can be reduced while simultaneously boosting performance. Among others, we work with the following integration partners: Salesforce, Klaviyo, Brace… A win-win situation!

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3. No one reads Direct Mail; it just ends up in the bin

Many marketers assume that advertising letters and postcards go straight to the rubbish bin without being read. But that’s not true! Postal direct mails create relevance: direct mail receives more attention compared to digital messages. Why? Because there’s less competition! Think about it!

A physical letter is usually taken out of the letterbox, opened, read, and kept if it contains something important (e.g., a discount voucher) – we call this the “fridge effect”. This effect describes how relevant post remains in the household for an average of six to eight weeks! and is regularly read by more than one person. This leads to more sustainable customer engagement and increases the likelihood of a sale. Emails, on the other hand, are often deleted without being read or end up in the spam folder. What a shame!

 

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Case Study: Additional revenue through second order & reactivation campaigns

Turning customers into regular clients is at least as challenging as acquiring potential new customers. What motivates them to place a second order after their first purchase? Similar questions arise with customers who used to buy regularly but have been inactive for some time. When is it worthwhile to invest in reactivating such inactive customers? Through precise customer analysis, Fressnapf was able to identify the optimal times and achieve impressive additional sales with direct mail campaigns.

4. Digital channels are more efficient and eco-friendly than Direct Mail Automation

Print products are often automatically labelled as bad for the environment because they create paper waste. But are their digital counterparts really the “greener” alternatives? In 2018, we sent around 848 billion emails in Germany. That’s an average of 28 emails per person per day. Each of these emails produces approximately 27g of CO2, which totals 756g of CO2 per day. So over the course of a year, sending emails generates 275.94 kg of CO2 per person.

The German Environment Agency recommends that our annual CO2 consumption should be less than 1 tonne to live a climate-neutral life. This means that by sending emails alone, we already use up a quarter of our annual CO2 budget. By using recyclable materials and responsible printing processes, we aim to make direct mail campaigns sustainable. Additionally, we work with local printing and delivery networks to minimise the ecological footprint.

Moreover, thanks to our highly detailed segmentation process, our customers don’t send mass mailings but rather hyper-personalised direct mail that meets each customer’s individual needs. This approach makes a significant difference – both in terms of return on investment and the reduction of paper waste.

Through optilyz technology and consulting, we were able to reduce our cost-per-order from mailings by 75%. We now plan to continue pursuing the path of greater customer centricity in our mailings.

Steven Petter (Head of Marketing, Maciag)

Resume: Direct Mail Automation is the future of adverising

You might be surprised, but direct mail automation is a game-changer in marketing. It’s a powerful performance channel that can fit seamlessly into your overall marketing strategy. In fact, we think it’s the future of performance marketing. Curious to learn more or want to find out how to set up direct mail automation? Let’s chat. Book a call with us today:

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Recap: optilyz Direct Mail Automation Awards 2024

This year was a remarkable one for both our customers and us: for the first time in optilyz’s history, we honoured companies with the optilyz direct mail automation awards in the following categories:

  • Cross-Channel Champion
  • International Growth
  • Creative Concept
  • Rising Star
  • ROI Leader

Our aim is to take you behind the scenes of renowned companies and showcase exciting use cases. Through practical examples from various industries, you’ll gain insights to help you implement direct mail automation in an agile and successful way. Discover who the winners are and why they earned their titles – in this article, we reveal all the insights:

Cross-Channel Champion

In today’s marketing landscape, where digital channels dominate, finding effective cross-channel methods to reach customers is essential. Fressnapf achieved this by creatively combining email marketing, app push notifications, and direct mail to promote an upcoming Christmas campaign. The result? A conversion rate that surpassed all expectations, marking a significant success for the company.

Fressnapf optilyz award OMR24

International Growth

HelloFresh has rapidly expanded into 18 countries, becoming the world’s most popular cookery box provider. By embracing change and a hands-on approach, the company doubled its conversion rates through personalised direct mail campaigns. Strong teamwork across borders has been key to HelloFresh’s innovation and growth. They constantly optimise processes and marketing strategies, leveraging tools like Salesforce and optilyz to automate and personalise direct mail. 

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Creative Concept

Golf House explores innovative marketing strategies to drive both online purchases and in-store visits. Their unique approach included offering customers a bottle of wine for visiting a local store. Collaborating closely with optilyz, Golf House has implemented over 10 different direct mail use cases, constantly testing new formats to meet customer needs.

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Rising Star

Palmers earned the “Rising Star” at the optilyz direct Mail automation awards 2024 for the company’s effective onboarding process and a swift implementation of direct mail automation. Creative marketing strategies allowed them to deliver hyperpersonalised content to specific audiences. Additionally, Palmers’ hands-on mentality and flexibility in adapting processes and workflows have been key to their success, ensuring they continually innovate and avoid stagnation.

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ROI Leader

congstar’s success at the optilyz direct mail automation awards 2024 is driven from their effective Black Friday campaigns, which achieved high conversion rates through solid data and targeted segmentation. They excel in tracking, testing and continuously refining their direct mail strategy with regular workshops and innovative experiments.

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Get ready for the optilyz Direct Mail Automation Awards 2025

Think your company deserves an award too? Stay tuned! The optilyz Direct Mail Automation Awards will return in 2025. We’ll soon share all the details on how to apply. Don’t want to miss out? Join our newsletter for updates: 

Palmers Award

optilyz Direct Mail Automation Awards 2024: Palmers wins “Rising Star”

That is Palmers

The iconic Austrian market leader in the premium segment has been supporting women with its lingerie and advice for over 100 years. In 1915, Ludwig Palmers laid the foundation for a company that continues to thrive today, thanks to exceptional performance in product quality, customer proximity, and expert advice. Palmers is considered an innovation leader with high standards of quality in the lingerie sector, with 180 locations across Austria.

Beyond national borders, the Palmers brand enjoys an excellent reputation and, thanks to its legendary poster campaigns, has achieved above-average brand recognition. Today, Palmers is present at 240 locations in 16 countries, with its own stores, shop-in-shop spaces, and franchise outlets across Europe. Palmers continually sets new accents and standards in communication and product innovation.

What does Palmers offer its customers?

The heritage brand Palmers offers high-quality lingerie, nightwear, swimwear, and hosiery for both women and men. Customers can purchase Palmers products either online or in one of the many stores. Palmers places great emphasis on high-quality materials and the best possible fit.

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How popular is Palmers?

Palmers enjoys a very high brand recognition of over 90% in Austria. Moreover, Palmers is known for its high-quality in-store advice, as every body is different.

Customer Satisfaction with the Online Shop

In 2024, the company ranked among the top 3 online shops with the highest customer satisfaction. On a scale from 1 (catastrophic) to 10 (outstanding), Palmers secured 3rd place with a score of 7.4, just behind Intimissimi in 2nd place and Hunkemöller in 1st place. (Source: Statista)

Ranking der Top 3 Online-Shops für Dessous in Österreich nach Kundenzufriedenheit im Jahr 2024

ÖGVS, Ranking der Top 3 Online-Shops für Dessous in Österreich nach Kundenzufriedenheit im Jahr 2024 (1 = katastrophal bis 10 = herausragend) Statista, https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/822364/umfrage/top-3-online-shops-fuer-dessous-in-oesterreich-nach-kundenzufriedenheit/ (letzter Besuch 12. Juni 2024)

Customer Satisfaction in Fashion Stores

In the 2023 ranking of fashion stores in Austria with the best service, Palmers also ranks highly. The company achieved a “service experience score” of 72.5%, placing it just ahead of the women’s fashion store Ulla Popken and the men’s outfitter engbers. (Source: Statista)

Ranking der Modegeschäfte in Österreich mit dem besten Service im Jahr 2023

ÖGVS, Ranking der Top 3 Online-Shops für Dessous in Österreich nach Kundenzufriedenheit im Jahr 2024 (1 = katastrophal bis 10 = herausragend) Statista, https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/822364/umfrage/top-3-online-shops-fuer-dessous-in-oesterreich-nach-kundenzufriedenheit/ (letzter Besuch 12. Juni 2024)

That’s why Palmers wins in the category “Rising Star”

Palmers has distinguished itself as a true “Rising Star” at the optilyz Direct Mail Automation Awards 2024 hervorgetan.  And there are good reasons for this: 

1. Revolutionary company philosophy

Palmers has long recognised the importance of keeping up with the times. The company advocates for a positive body image among its customers, who have historically and continue to struggle with societal beauty standards. That’s why the company makes it clear:

Every woman is beautiful. No exceptions.

With its innovative #endofsorry campaign, Palmers aims to inspire women and girls to stop apologising for their appearance, their feelings, or their character. There’s no such thing as too small, too large, too thick, or too thin, and certainly not too old, too queer, or too loud. Women should feel completely comfortable in their own skin. To support this message, the heritage brand has even introduced a new slogan: Be sexy, not sorry!

Under this motto, Palmers is drawing attention to this important issue. But that’s not all: the website features several women who do not fit conventional roles and who share their “Not-sorry stories”. These include, for example, deaf model Bianca Rosemarie and drag artist Pandora Nox.

sorry not sorry Palmers

2. Effective onboarding

Palmers stood out at the optilyz Direct Mail Automation Awards 2024 not only because of its socially critical mission but also due to its swift and effective onboarding process. Together with optilyz, the fashion retailer successfully prepared for onboarding and promptly activated automations.


3. Out-of-the-Box thinking

Wie die aktuelle Kampagne deutlich zeigt, sind die Marketingverantwortlichen von Palmers mutig genug, anders zu denken und bestimmte Thematiken kreativ (und lautstark!) auszuarbeiten. Das Unternehmen weiß, welche Zielgruppe es erreichen will und warum. Und: Da Palmers ihre Zielgruppe genau kennt, gestaltet sich die Arbeit mit der Programmatic Print Software von optilyz umso effektiver. Das Unternehmen kann im Handumdrehen automatisierte und hyperpersonalisierte Direct Mail an seine Kundschaft verschicken.

As the current campaign clearly demonstrates, the marketing team at Palmers is bold enough to think differently and creatively (and loudly!) tackle certain topics. The company knows exactly which target audience it wants to reach and why. And because Palmers understands its target audience so well, working with optilyz’s programmatic print software becomes even more effective. The company can quickly send out automated and hyper-personalised direct mail to its customers.

 

4. Hands-on-mentality and high flexibility

In addition to creativity and the courage to go against the tide, Palmers places great emphasis on a hands-on mentality. For the employees, it’s second nature to actively contribute, continuously develop, and sometimes swim against the current. Another key to success: the company is flexible, consistently establishing new processes and adapting workflows as needed.

Stagnation is a foreign concept for Palmers. This is evident in their approach to direct mail automation and cloud integration with Salesforce. The team can now automatically plan and send direct mail according to the needs of the company and its customers.

Curious to find out who won the “International Growth” category at the optilyz Direct Mail Automation Awards 2024? Check it out here.

Potential-Analyse

Direct Mail Potential Analysis: How to increase your conversion rate

The term direct mail sounds familiar to you, but you can’t quite place it yet? In this blog post, you’ll learn what direct mail and direct mail automation are and why you can still benefit from this performance channel in 2024. Additionally, we share important figures and strategic tips with you and explain how the direct mail potential analysis works.

What is Direct Mail?

Direct mail is a form of direct marketing where promotional materials such as postcards, self-mailers, or letters are sent to potential and existing customers via postal mail. Similar to email marketing (the digital counterpart to direct mail automation), you can hyper-personalise your direct advertising to the needs of segmented target groups. The goal is to motivate customers to take an action, such as visiting the company’s website, redeeming a coupon code, or purchasing a specific product. You can also congratulate someone on their birthday, Christmas, Hanukkah, etc., thereby strengthening customer loyalty!

That’s why Direct Mail still works in year 2024

Advertising by post is out? Not at all! Programmatic print, as direct mail automation is also known, has numerous advantages that your company can benefit from both today and in the future, especially if you conduct a direct mail potential analysis. Here are a few examples:”

1. Advantage: Creativity

Whether online or offline, creative and personalised marketing strategies are indispensable nowadays. Your customers want advertising that is tailored to them, tells a story, and looks good, no question! With direct mail, you have countless formats, designs, and paper textures at your disposal that match your corporate identity.

These can be, for example, elegant brochures for a women’s fashion online shop, postcards in your unique brand colour, or entire campaigns with a specific design and goal. There are no limits to your creativity!

2. Advantage: Interactivity

Advertising by post is much more interactive than one of the countless emails that get lost in the recipient’s inbox or are immediately deleted. We are familiar with emails; they are not as exciting as they used to be. A well-made flyer, on the other hand, engages multiple senses and can be held in hand or pinned to the fridge for later use.

In fact, a study found that 77% of people look at direct mails immediately when they find them in their letterbox. You can make your direct mails even more interactive by, for example, integrating a QR code that allows customers to redeem an exclusive discount online. This way, you create valuable omnichannel incentives and can cleverly engage customers at various stages of the customer journey.”

3. Advantage: Less competition

While other companies continue to proclaim that advertising by post is outdated and that online marketing is the only true strategy, you can stay one step ahead of your competition with a good programmatic print strategy.

 

Why? Well, the more strategically your customers receive direct advertising such as letters, postcards, or self-mailers, the more likely it is that your direct mails will stand out among the mass of digital advertising messages from other companies. This not only gives you a clear competitive advantage but also strengthens your brand awareness.

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Important KPIs for Direct Mail Automation 

Advertising by post continues to be very worthwhile for the sales of online shops – this has been shown by a print mailing study by the Collaborative Marketing Club (CMC) for 2024. We have summarised the most important data from this study for you.

1. Higher Conversion Rate (CVR)

Especially vouchers with limitations are considered particularly effective this year and can increase the CVR by up to 80% compared to the regular version. It’s no wonder—after all, urgency is created when the discount or voucher is valid for only a limited time.

However, the conversion rate for existing customers of various online shops remains high, even though overall consumer spending has decreased. It averages 4.3% across all test variants. Additionally, analyses of QR code scans show that 14% of these customers visited the advertised online shop.

2. Higher Order Values

Customers who receive direct mails by post spend, on average, 10% more on their subsequent order compared to their previous one. Direct mail indirectly motivates your customers to make repeat purchases and spend more money.

3. Significant Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS)

According to the study, the ROAS is a remarkable 872%! This means that for every euro you spend on direct mail (with an average basket value of €94), you generate €8.72 in revenue.

Direct Mail and customer loyalty

With increasing competition, it’s becoming ever more important to retain existing customers and continually encourage them to make purchases. But how can you strengthen customer loyalty and show that you care about their needs? Regularity is key to keeping your company top of mind.

By addressing your target audience personally and directly with direct mail and responding to their wishes, they will feel valued and acknowledged. In contrast, emails can come across as anonymous, even if you use a personalised greeting. For example, a beautifully designed postcard or self-mailer leaves a lasting impression.

After all, who doesn’t appreciate a thank-you note with a personal message, a small birthday greeting with a discount code, or the opportunity to join a loyalty program? All of this can be achieved with direct mail, helping to strengthen customer loyalty.

 

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3 Tips for Direct Mail

Tip 1: Define your Target Audience

To make direct mail campaigns as personal as possible, you need to understand your potential customers thoroughly. Only then can you tailor your content for hyperpersonalisation. Is your offer aimed at B2B customers? 

Then gather as many firmographic details as possible, such as company name, number of employees, industry, or location. If you’re targeting B2C customers, demographic information like age, gender, residence, or occupation is crucial. From this data, you can create an ideal customer profile (ICP) and optimally segment your target audience.

Tip 2: Use Standard Formats instead of Custom Formats

Many companies think that “the more unusual, the better” is the best approach to capturing customer attention. However, you should actually opt for personalised standard formats rather than elaborate custom formats for direct mail.

Here’s why:

1. Shorter Lead Time for Standard Formats: Simpler formats can be implemented with less advance planning, as printers typically keep these formats in stock. This is especially beneficial for promotional periods like Black Friday, Christmas, or Easter.

2. Cost-Effective: Compared to standard formats, the paper and production costs of elaborate custom formats can quickly become exorbitant.

3. Content is King and Queen: Relevant content is more important than design. If your target audience can’t relate to your message or offer, even the most impressive pop-up card won’t be effective.

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Tip 3: Always include a call to action

Whether it’s flyers, self-mailers, or postcards, direct mail must serve a specific purpose to be worthwhile. Here are a few popular approaches:

1. Celebrate a Customer’s Birthday: Strengthen the customer relationship by sending birthday greetings and encouraging them to redeem a birthday discount.

2. Enhance Brand Awareness: Communicate a key message about your company’s vision, goals, or unique features to build brand recognition.

3. Add a QR Code: Track digitally how many people redeem a discount code or participate in a competition via direct mail.

4. Encourage App Downloads: Prompt customers to download an app, enabling you to engage them across multiple channels.

Example from Practice: Our client, the hardware store OBI, combined personalised birthday mailings with a reactivation campaign and saw a 218% increase in revenue per customer compared to the control group!

Potential Analysis for Direct Mail Automation

How Much Potential Could Direct Mail Automation Have for Your Business? In this section, we’ll show you how to conduct a direct mail potential analysis.

The optilyz Potential Calculator

With our calculator, you can easily estimate the potential revenue that direct mail automation could realistically generate for your business. All you need to do is enter a few data points.

Important: This is only a rough estimate based on our performance database. The figures are derived from benchmarks gathered through our work with over 300 companies.

Actual values may vary depending on your industry, location, and target audience compared to the results of our direct mail potential analysis. We are happy to provide further advice on this. If you want to learn more about the optilyz software and your options with direct mail automation, request your free demo today!

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